Yesterday I watched a televised rugby match between England and Scotland. The matchplay was exciting, the result very close and only finally determined in the last few minutes of the game. It should have been a very positive experience. But for me it was terminally spoiled by the vast array of intrusive advertising.
Every camera angle was filled with advertisements from multiple advertising: logos on the shirts of players, on the shirts of the match officials, and on the shirts of the medics who ran onto the pitch to tend to injured players. Even the balls were covered by advertising, and of course the stands at ground level and in the raised stands were populated by ever-changing and often flashing advertisements. They are all designed of course to catch our eye and our attention with a view to generating sales. I understand that, but they are nowadays so intrusive and so insistent that they seriously detract from and distract from the main event. I’m afraid that my usual response these days to any intrusive advertisement is that I wouldn’t buy it even if I wanted it.
In the event England narrowly lost this rugby match. But in my view, advertising seriously spoiled the experience.